


Too Much Long Distance in Our Love

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Starting Over [6]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Humor, Missing Scene, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-11
Updated: 2012-02-11
Packaged: 2017-10-30 22:47:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/337032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Any minute now their phones would ring and their bubbles would burst.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Too Much Long Distance in Our Love

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 7x13, SNAKE EYES!!! This is how I imagined JJ’s call to Hotch went that morning and what happened after. And it’s not love yet, at least not in my head but the title is from the Carly Simon song, Damn You Get to Me. I listen to her music a lot.

The phone was ringing as he stepped out of the shower. He knew it wasn’t her and even without seeing who it was already knew what that meant. Sighing, Hotch wrapped a towel around his naked waist and answered.

“Good morning, JJ, you're on speaker.”

“Good morning. I'm sorry to call so early but we’ve got trouble in Atlantic City.”

“What's happening?” he grabbed the towel from his bed and ran it through his damp hair.

“Danny Savino, a low level mobster, was murdered last night at the Sapphire Lake Casino. AC PD and agents from the Newark field office are concerned this could spark a war.”

“You said he was low level.”

“Yes, but there has been a rash of recent beatings and long standing beefs between at least three families. Atlantic City is smack in the middle of the action. You know they only have to assume its payback for them to start shooting. No one wants that.”

“Yeah.” Hotch nodded. “Alright, get the team together and I should be there within an hour.” He went to look at his watch, except he wasn’t wearing one yet. Of course he wasn’t…Hotch wasn’t wearing anything. His biking tights and tee shirt were lying across the chair. He wasn’t going to be wearing those either. “I need everything we have on Savino, true and speculative.”

“I’ll get Garcia on it and it should be ready when you arrive.”

“Thanks JJ.”

Hotch hung up the phone and sat down on the side of his unmade bed. For just a few moments he hated his job. He worked hard; was looking forward to a weekend off. There weren't even plans to see the inside of the office this weekend. 

There would be no paperwork, no Unsubs, nothing. Except now JJ was calling him at 7am on a Sunday morning. The rest of the team was probably sound asleep, visions of a lazy day running through their heads. Any minute now their phones would ring and their bubbles would burst. 

The only reason Hotch was awake, other than his body’s incessant need to wake up at o’dark thirty, was that he had a date. It was another bike ride for him and Beth. Both were coming to enjoy their mornings out on the streets of DC. She’d gotten much better with every ride. 

Next week she would show her stuff in the MS triathlon. It was another 3 weeks before his FBI race. This morning was one more missed opportunity to train. It was more than that really. 

Jack was spending the weekend with Aunt Jessie and Uncle Sam. He was always excited to go and be a big cousin to baby Michael. Hotch planned to invite Beth back to his place for a leisurely brunch and afternoon together. He surely had more on his mind than bacon and eggs. It wasn’t sex, per say, he just wanted to hold her. He wanted to kiss her and listen to her sigh in his ear.

There was nothing wrong with wanting those things. Beth was a beautiful woman and Hotch was attracted to her. Her looks weren't the only thing that turned him on. She made him laugh. She made him want to break out of the rigid box he’d built for himself years ago. 

The walls of it closed in more and more since the night Haley walked out on their marriage. He didn’t feel that way with her. He loved Beth’s smile, her laugh, and her optimistic outlook on life. And this morning he wanted to kiss her until they were both breathless. Instead he was on his way to Quantico.

Hotch actually needed to be dressing right now and not ruminating on how much he didn’t want to get dressed. He went over to the dresser for his boxer briefs. Sighing, he hit a number on the phone and listened to it ring a few times.

“Hey you.” her voice was pleasant first thing in the morning. _It would be nice to wake up to_ , Hotch thought. He needed to shake that thought off. He wasn’t ready for that…he was so ready for that.

“I'm not waking you, am I?”

“No, I'm up and ready to report for duty.”

“Its funny you should say that. I've got you on speaker Beth; I'm getting dressed.”

“So you're naked right now?” she asked.

“As a newborn.” Hotch replied. _Not quite but close enough_ , he thought as he put on a clean Hanes tee shirt. 

“You're a bad boy Aaron Hotchner…and I think you like it.”

“I was trying to be.” He smiled but it quickly faded. “Beth…”

“Do you have to cancel our bike ride?” 

“Yes. I'm so sorry; I just got called into work.”

“They called you in on a Sunday morning?”

“Yeah; it’s that kind of case.”

“OK.”

He hated that she sounded so disappointed. She was doing a good job of covering it up but Hotch had become well trained in hearing a woman’s disappointed voice. Whether she spoke two syllables or two hundred it was always the same.

“I hate this; I had plans. We had plans.” He said.

“It’s an awesome morning too. It’s not frigid and the sun is amazing. We were gonna work up quite a sweat out there.”

“I was going to make you brunch.”

“You were going to make me brunch?” Beth asked.

“Yes.” Hotch nodded.

“OK, now I'm pissed. Just don’t tell me it was pancakes Aaron or I’ll be forced to act very ugly.”

“That’s impossible. I'm sorry about this, Beth.”

“Just make it up to me.”

“I will.” He replied.

“Well I'm going back to bed. Lucky thing I'm still in pajamas, huh?”

“I’ll call you when I get back to town.”

“Alright. Be safe and put the bad guys exactly where they belong.”

“Alright; bye.”

“Bye.”

He didn’t want to but Hotch hung up. Already dressed in socks, slacks, and a dress shirt, he grabbed a tie from the rack inside his closet door. There wasn’t a lot of time to spare so damp hair would have to do. He’d throw in a little gel and hope the team didn’t notice. It was going to be a crazy case. No one wanted to be there on a Sunday morning so his damp hair would probably be the last thing anybody cared about. 

Fully dressed in Hotch gear, the Unit Chief checked himself in the mirror. He grabbed his newly packed go bag, his keys, and his cell phone. He still needed to call Jessie and Sam to let them know what was happening. Rushing out to his truck, Hotch was a bit behind on that hour he promised JJ, he shot out a text.

‘ _I meant it when I said I’ll make it up to you. I even plan to sacrifice future shoulder rubs_.’ –Aaron

He buckled up and started the ignition. NPR was turned off in favor of some classic rock. Hotch needed something to pump him up. A text came through before he could pull out of the parking space.

‘ _Oh no Mister, it’s on for shoulder rubs. I'm looking forward to that. Keep thinking…I know you'll come up with something awesome_.’ –Beth

‘ _Today was going to be awesome_.’ –Aaron

He put the phone in the console and drove to work. His job didn’t have hours; that was the truth of the matter. Personal relationships often took a back seat to the awesome power of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. That was why he was a divorced widower now. It was why he’d been single for four years. 

It could make him single again in the very near future. An hour after leaving his condo, Hotch parked his car in the lot. Fourteen years he had been there…so many others come and gone. He took a deep breath, grabbed his phone and bag, and walked across the asphalt. Hotch took one last look at his phone before going in.

‘ _It just gives us something to look forward to Aaron. Shoulder rubs and pancakes and bikes rides, oh my! LOL, see you soon_.’ –Beth

He knew by the time he got upstairs that he would be ready to lead his team to whatever waited in New Jersey. At least that gave him the whole lobby and 13 floors up to wear the grin of a happy man.

***


End file.
